Should I wear a helmet?

I enjoy biking and Im going on the trinity river trail in Fort Worth
this weekend. (70 mile round trip) Im trying to keep costs low and one
of the last things I would expect to get would be a helmet. I dont
intend to fall off and hit my head. Even if i do....would it help? has
anyone had any real experience with a helmet in a fall? The only
anecdote I can provide is one time I was backpacking at Dinosaur
Valley. I was packing up my tent in the morning and heard a sound....a
couple of mountain bikers coming by. They stopped and chatted with me
a minute or two beofre riding on. After several hours of hiking i made
it back to the road and my truck. There was a truck parked next to me.
As I was putting my gear up along came those 2 bikers. One of them was
carrying his helmet and had blood on his face. He told me that he was
going down a steep hill, hit a root and got thrown from his bike and
his head hit a boulder and split his helmet in half. He said you gotta
throw it away and get a new one if you even get a small bump. From the
looks of it, the blow would have surely cracked his skull open because
it was split wide. So even after seeing that...I wonder if i should
spend the money on a helmet. I dont have much to spend and it seems
uneccesary because I wont be doind the kind of stuff like that which
gets you into those situations.....but since I also go up to the store
and back you can never be sure.

How many other people ride without a helmet...and how many people who
do wear helmets find that its been a lifesaver? Also, have you worn,
been in a fall and still got hurt where it didnt provide any help?

any input would be appreciated.

x-no-archive:yes

I enjoy biking and Im going on the trinity river trail in Fort Worth
this weekend. (70 mile round trip) Im trying to keep costs low and one
of the last things I would expect to get would be a helmet. I dont
intend to fall off and hit my head.

The Trinity River Trail is no where near a 70 mile round trip unless you are
starting from Denton--on your bike.

Nobody "intends" to fall.

Think about it.


Pat in TX

"Pat" wrote in message
...
x-no-archive:yes

I enjoy biking and Im going on the trinity river trail in Fort Worth
this weekend. (70 mile round trip) Im trying to keep costs low and one
of the last things I would expect to get would be a helmet. I dont
intend to fall off and hit my head.

The Trinity River Trail is no where near a 70 mile round trip unless you
are
starting from Denton--on your bike.

Nobody "intends" to fall.

Think about it.


Its called an "accident" for a reason. If it were planned...

I was riding along talking to the guy next to me last Sat on the SDBC ride
here in San Diego. We were talking about the guy in the Acura that wasn't
moving out of the lane in Encinitas. As we were passing a slower rider on
the right, he moved left, I moved left. There was a guy and a girl chatting
passing us on the left side. They moved right just as I was moving left.

I went down so fast I didn't even have time to let go of my bars.

As my head bounced off the asphalt, splitting my helmet, all I could do is
lay there for a moment. Ugh! That hurt! You know it isn't good when you
don't bounce up and ask how the bike is.

I have a nifty bruise on my forehead, forearm, shoulder, and a very sore
neck. I hate to think about the meatwagon ride I'd have to have taken
without a helmet on.

So, what was that about not wearing a helmet again? The FIRST thing you
should do is go buy one. You don't need to spend a lot of money ($20-30
should do) because all of the helmets out there have to pass the same safety
standards. Just make sure that where you buy your helmet helps you set the
straps correctly.

And WEAR it! A helmet doesn't do you any good hanging on your bars.

Mike

Pat in TX

"Mike S." mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet wrote:

They moved right just as I was moving left.

I went down so fast I didn't even have time to let go of my bars.
....
I hate to think about the meatwagon ride I'd have to have taken
without a helmet on.

I crashed that way once in Austin, and smacked my bean hard on the
side. No helmet. No detectable head injury. No ride on the meat
wagon.

"You might have a mild concussion," the UT Student Health Center doc
said, "so you should take it easy for a few days just to be on the
safe side."

It was one of many data points that together let me know the value of
bike helmets is, at best, overrated.

Chalo Colina

You would have failed a logic class.

"Chalo" wrote in message
om...
"Mike S." mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet wrote:

They moved right just as I was moving left.

I went down so fast I didn't even have time to let go of my bars.
...
I hate to think about the meatwagon ride I'd have to have taken
without a helmet on.

I crashed that way once in Austin, and smacked my bean hard on the
side. No helmet. No detectable head injury. No ride on the meat
wagon.

"You might have a mild concussion," the UT Student Health Center doc
said, "so you should take it easy for a few days just to be on the
safe side."

It was one of many data points that together let me know the value of
bike helmets is, at best, overrated.

Chalo Colina

"Robert Chambers" wrote in message
...
| You would have failed a logic class.

Do you mean his intelligence has dropped after the fall or do you mean by
his general statement?

I agree with him totally and I'm 20yrs old, have a bachelor's, and work as a
software designer. Obviously logic is extremely important in such
situations, no? My algorithms are still as efficient as they were before I
began riding the bike (crashes w/o helmets).

So if the gov't starts demanding bikers to wear full body armor (like
bmx'ers), will not wearing it tag you as being illogical?

"Robert Chambers" wrote in message
...
| You would have failed a logic class.

Do you mean his intelligence has dropped after the fall or do you mean by
his general statement?

I agree with him totally and I'm 20yrs old, have a bachelor's, and work as a
software designer. Obviously logic is extremely important in such
situations, no? My algorithms are still as efficient as they were before I
began riding the bike (crashes w/o helmets).

So if the gov't starts demanding bikers to wear full body armor (like
bmx'ers), will not wearing it tag you as being illogical?

"Robert Chambers" wrote:

You would have failed a logic class.

You don't have any idea what my other data points were, now do you?

Even if that had been the _only_ one, that would make my logic no
faultier than that of the helmet proponents who cry "saved my life!"
every time they break a bike beanie.

Chalo

"Robert Chambers" wrote:

You would have failed a logic class.

You don't have any idea what my other data points were, now do you?

Even if that had been the _only_ one, that would make my logic no
faultier than that of the helmet proponents who cry "saved my life!"
every time they break a bike beanie.

Chalo

You would have failed a logic class.

"Chalo" wrote in message
om...
"Mike S." mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet wrote:

They moved right just as I was moving left.

I went down so fast I didn't even have time to let go of my bars.
...
I hate to think about the meatwagon ride I'd have to have taken
without a helmet on.

I crashed that way once in Austin, and smacked my bean hard on the
side. No helmet. No detectable head injury. No ride on the meat
wagon.

"You might have a mild concussion," the UT Student Health Center doc
said, "so you should take it easy for a few days just to be on the
safe side."

It was one of many data points that together let me know the value of
bike helmets is, at best, overrated.

Chalo Colina